While The Lines Are Stopped At Toyota, A Massive Relief Effort Is Underway

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Days after the earthquake an tsunami had devastated large parts of the north-east Tohoku area of Japan, Toyota was still cut off from its factories in the hardest hit Miyagi prefecture. A convoy of six water tankers, two fuel tankers and nine cargo trucks braved impassable or closed roads and reached the area on Sunday after the quake. A second convoy arrived on Monday.

By now, Toyota has an out-and-out private army in the region, helping factories and the surrounding communities.

As of Monday, the Toyota group had sent 38 trucks into the affected areas. More are on the way. The trucks do not carry parts or machinery. They are packed with emergency provisions, foodstuffs, drinking water, blankets, towels, paper diapers, and medical supplies. Clean drinking water is getting scarce, so Toyota sent six tanker trucks carrying water. Two fuel tanker trucks deliver badly needed gasoline.

“The provisions are not only for Toyota-related employees and their families, but also for other earthquake victims,” says Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco. The relief supplies are distributed through local channels.

The effort is coordinated by an emergency-response task force, based at Toyota Motor Corporation headquarters in Toyota City. The task force has about 40 to 50 members from various fields. “It is not as rigid an entity as some might expect,” says Nolasco. “It is depending on who is available whenever a meeting is held.”

While the catastrophe took a huge human toll (the total is expected to exceed 20,000), the Toyota factories escaped relatively unharmed. The Sendai plant reports some damage to walls and pipes, but nothing really structural. Kanto Auto Works had some stamping equipment dislodged. Toyota Motor Tohoku reports no heavy damage. PEVE Miyagi Plant had limited damage to manufacturing equipment.

As we speak, Toyota is readying about 40 more trucks to head up north. Toyota also considers making company housing available to people evacuated from the affected areas. It has been said that the old ideal of the “company as your family” is falling apart in Japan. It’s times like these that bring families together, at home and at work.

Immediately afte

r the quake, Toyota donated 300 million yen ($3.7 million) for relief and recovery efforts. Separately, the Toyota Motor Workers’ Union is raising money. In (this time) friendly competition, Volkswagen came to the aid of the people in Japan also. According to a press release, the extended Volkswagen Group donated a total of €2.5 million ($3.5 million) to the cause. Volkswagen and Audi gave a million Euro each, Porsche donated half a million. The President of the Volkswagen Group Works Council, Bernd Osterloh called on the workforce to contribute to a major donation campaign. Honda has likewise donated 300 million yen ($3.7 million), along with 1,000 generators and 5,000 gas canisters.

There are no pictures from Toyota’s relief effort. “I wanted to go, but they did not let me,” says Nolasco. ” I would just be in the way.”

Want to help? Here is how.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 7 comments
  • Jeff Waingrow Jeff Waingrow on Mar 24, 2011

    The $200,000 I mentioned is going directly to the International Red Cross with the proviso that it be used exclusively for immediate aid to Japan.

  • Werewolf34 Werewolf34 on Mar 24, 2011

    What I've heard from friends and colleagues in Japan is the best way to donate is directly to the Japanese Red Cross I hope we learn from this and that the US can put together a better emergency response plan than what happened with Katrina.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
Next